The Gambill Family

Laura's College Graduation

2009-05-10T17:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday, I went with my parents to the University of Montevallo to watch my little sister graduate from college. I just can't believe she's old enough to be a college graduate. I'm so proud of her.

Laura in line ready to get her diploma.

Getting her diploma

The proud graduate

Me and Laura

My parents and I with Laura

AJ's injury

2009-04-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

AJ got his first really bad boo boo yesterday. He was playing on the furniture and slipped and fell, smashing his lip and nose on the table. There was so much blood, I really thought he had broken his nose. But he perked up after a couple hours and was playing. This is what he looks like today. I've been calling him Rudolph.

Snow Day 09

2009-03-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

The best snow we've had in two years.

AJ and Chewie

2009-03-23T16:02:00.001-07:00

AJ loves Chewie (he calls him Ruff Ruff). You can tell that Chewie just tolerates him. I love it.

AJ's first dentist appt

2009-02-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

You can tell just how excited AJ is about seeing the dentist!!

Not real sure about opening his mouth. He did really well though.

The only thing he didn't like was laying back in the chair.

His favorite thing to do was spit out the water and then refill the cup.

Over all he did very well. He wouldn't let the dental assistant floss his teeth, but she said that was pretty normal and he did better than most children his age.

AJ 3 years old

2009-02-10T15:38:00.001-08:00

2009-01-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning we normally have all the family over for brunch and rush to open our own gifts before everyone gets here. This year, with me and AJ having bronchitis and some other family issues, we postponed brunch until the day after Christmas. So AJ had plenty of time to tear into all his gifts. This was the first year he has gotten into opening gifts. He went right for the biggest one first.

Trey got him this viewmaster. It brought back so many memories. I wish I could find my old one. AJ got pictures of dinosaurs and his favorite - SpongeBob.

He really didn't know what the stocking was so I had to show him that were actually gifts inside it and then he was digging to the bottom to make sure he got everything.

One of his favorite stocking items, candy topped with a toy!!

We gave AJ this bike. Its stationery and plugs into the TV. Not only is it good for exercise, but its educational as well. As he peddles, it drives down the road making him find things like colors and shapes. Right now though, he'll only peddle backwards. We're working on the forward thing.

Probably his favorite toy of the year - a wheel barrel. If you know AJ, you know how he loves to push anything on wheels. He loads and unloads toys ALL day long. His Mammy (his great-granmother) gave him this for Christmas. We have plans to put him to work with it this spring. :)

2009-01-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of AJ just before Christmas. He doesn't like Mommy taking photos, so luckily Abigail was around with some bubbles to get his attention.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Mother's Day Out School at Southeast always has a Thanksgiving potluck meal for the kids and parents. We got there and also found out that some of the kids would be singing a song. How cute is this!! AJ was very good and walked out and stood where he was told, but he didn't sing. He just sort of looked around at the other kids singing and waiting for his promised candy from the teacher for being good.

They made their own little turkey hats and AJ also made a placemat for Thanksgiving.

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

The past three years, Florence has put on a Trunk or Treat on Halloween night for the surrounding neighborhood kids to come, play games, eat hot dogs and take home tons of candy. AJ enjoyed it more this year. He liked playing games once he realized he would get candy whether he won or lost.

Trey sporting his Indiana Jones outfit.

Angie, Kim, Dawn and Tonia

Our two dads manning the hot dog grill.

AJ and his buddy Spiderman (or Jayden)!

AJ with his Aunt Nina before.

AJ and his Uncle Keith

AJ with his Uncle Ben

Indy and Maverick

Happy Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

from our little flyboy...

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2008-10-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy today. How time flies. I can't believe he's three already.

First Family Vacation - Washington, DC

2008-10-02T20:50:00.001-07:00

In July, we went to visit our friends the Franklins at their home in Washington, DC for a few days. This was the first actual vacation we've taken with A.J. We decided to drive up, stopping halfway for the night, and he did great.

On the way, we stopped at Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello. Unfortunately, AJ was not in the mood to be quiet for a house tour, so we had to be content just walking on the grounds and seeing the house from the outside which is still very impressive.

Trey and AJ outside of Monticello - this is the view from the back of the house, I thought it was prettier than the front plus it overlooked the gardens which I'm sure are even more gorgeous in the spring than in the hot summer.

The first full day there we went to the Washington zoo. A.J.'s favorite part was running under the mist that they had in different areas of the park. His favorite animal...

That evening, AJ got to play in the water with William and David. He wasn't sure about it at first, so I made him get in. The second picture is him threatening to throw water on me.

The second day, we decided to visit some of the Smithsonian museums. First off was the air and space museum. There are no pictures from this because AJ was a very unhappy little boy that morning and we only spent a few minutes inside. Much to Trey's disapointment.

We then went to the Museum of Natural History - AJ was excited to see the dinosaurs (GRRRR) but then proceeded to sleep through the rest of the museum. This is a picture of the rotunda when you first walk in.

Of course, I had to get a picture of the Hope Diamond - yes, it was incredible!

AJ didn't want to ride the carousel at first, but when it was over, he wanted to ride it again.

I don't have pictures of the Jim Henson exhibit because they don't allow them, but it was such a special part of my childhood remembered when we went in and got see the muppets in person. AJ enjoyed making his own muppet in the children's area.

On the third day, Heidi offered to babysit AJ so Trey and I could get a little more sightseeing in. This is what we saw as we drove off...
AJ and David riding in the Jeep. This was AJ's first experience driving and I have to say, he was a natural. AND he loved it. We could hardly get him off of it the rest of the trip.

Our first stop was at the National Archives. While waiting in line, I took this shot - there is just something about the architecture of columns that I just love (I took a lot of column shots on this trip!)

One of the biggest highlights of the trip, seeing the constitution and declaration of independence. Trey was secretly planning how he was going to steal the declaration to find the treasure. :)

We spent a lot of the afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery. It was really hot, but seeing the changing of the guard was worth the wait.

That evening we went to eat downtown and then walked around to see the White House. What Washington trip would be complete without a photo of the White House.

We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends that would allow us to come crash with them in their home and then even act as tour guide. Billy took Trey and I out to show his plane and it was definitely the highlight of the trip for both of us. Here is a picture of Billy showing Trey the plane. I got to see it too.

Then a picture of the two high school friends in front of Billy's plane. Look above their heads and you'll see his name on the plane.

Billy took us out that night to see the memorials. They were definitely more impressive at night than during the day. My favorite being the Lincoln Memorial. It was huge.

We had a great trip, stopping on the way home and seeing Trey's Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Bristol who gave us a very warm welcome. A great end to a great vacation. Hopefully the first of many family vacations to come.

A.J.'s first day of school

2008-09-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I've been a dilinquent blogger on the family blog. I promise to update everyone on our summer happenings, but for now I wanted to tell you about AJ's first day of school. So its not really school, its a mother's day out program at Southeast Baptist Church, but to AJ, its school. We've been asking him if he wanted to go to school the past week and everytime we do he asks for Keith. Keith started college at Belmont a couple weeks ago so when we visit his Grammy and Papa we have to tell him that Keith is at school. We are only assuming that he thinks Keith will be at his school.

He was so excited this morning to take his backpack and lunch with him. He got out of the car and went straight to the door opening it himself and going inside.

Here he is in his room. It is the 3 year old class called monkeys, so he is the youngest, but he walked right in and sat down. He didn't like that they had put pink playdo at his spot, so he got up and got the green playdo from a empty spot. Trey was so proud.

I'm trying to be strong, but I got a little teared up leaving him, especially since he didn't seem to care if we left or not. I keep watching the clock, just waiting for 2:00 when I will go pick him up. And we'll see how much fun he had.

First park visit of the year

2008-04-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

The first really warm day we had a few weeks ago, Trey and I took some time to take AJ to a little park close to the church. We had it all to ourselves for about an hour and AJ had a ball. He was a bit timid at first and afraid to slide by himself, but eventually he was climbing all by himself and sliding and when it was time to leave he didn't want to. I'm sure there will be many more days like that this summer.

Prom Night

2008-03-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

The Friday before Easter was my brother, Keith's, prom night. His adorable girlfriend, Whitney, lives in Lawrenceburg, so she got ready at my parent's house. That was great for me, cause you know how I love to take pictures. I headed to Unionville and was able to document a little of the pre-prom action.

Happy Easter 2008

2008-03-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

AJ was a bit sick this weekend, so he wasn't really in to having his photo taken. He did enjoy his easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa. Here's a few photos from Easter sunday.

Grease

2008-03-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of doing the promotional posters for Community School's current drama production for this spring - Grease. They combined with the Drama and Music Dept at Eagleville and it is a HUGE success. We went to see it Saturday night and as much of a Grease movie fan I am, how could I not love the play. But it was even better than I thought it would be. Of course, I am a bit biased because my brother was Danny Zuko, but they ALL did a great job.

Naturally, I took my camera, so click here or on the picture to view the highlights of the play.

Camino Real

2008-01-20T19:05:00.001-08:00

AJ loves all food, but we think he's particularly partial to mexican. Last Sunday we ate at Camino Real on Broad Street (a family favorite). Someone at another table was having a birthday which mean they get to wear the sombraro. Well, AJ just kept eyeing it, so the waiter put it on him. You really had to be there to see his eyes. I think it was so heavy he was afraid to move but he kept darting his eyes back and forth. Thanks to Nina for saving the day with her camera phone!

Christmas morning 2007

2007-12-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

AJ definitely got into the gifts this year. I think next year he'll be more excited about Christmas, but he enjoyed the year nevertheless. Of course, I had to by him some little Christmas pjs (much to his daddy's dismay). It was such a fun morning with just the three of us and AJ opening gifts before the rest of the family got there. A special time I will never forget. The most important question - what did Santa bring? Well, AJ is the proud owner of a wooden train set (among lots of other toys) which he has been playing with since.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-31T21:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is already over. Family activities for us include going to my grandmothers on Christmas eve for dinner, then having a Christmas eve service at church, then the family comes to our house for brunch on Christmas day. This was the first year for us to do all that with a two year old and let me just say - whewww.

The Gambills at Mammy's Christmas 07.

Cousins Hillary and Keith. Hillary is the oldest great grandchild and Keith is the youngest grandchild. They will both be graduating from high school in may. We have a photo of them sitting together (maybe in the same chair) when they were babies.

These two were born a few weeks apart. AJ is a little bully and kept pulling him close not wanting him to get out of the chair.

Gingerbread House 2007

2007-12-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas we decorated our annual gingerbread house. Of course it was just the kit but we do buy extra candy to make it extra special. This was AJ's first gingerbread house, but I don't really think he cared about anything but eating the candy. We got a few gumdrops on the house, but we are sure that AJ ate most of them. Just as we were finishing the house, the electricity went out, so we spent some very special family time together to candlelight and I photographed the finished house the next morning.

Birthday

2007-12-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

Keith's 18th birthday was on the 20th. So the family came over for cake an pizza. Its got to be hard having a birthday so close to Christmas. A.J. had to open all the gifts for Keith. It was too cute.

The Crucible

2007-11-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to create the poster's again this year for my brother's play which was this weekend. Friday night, I was able to go and take some pictures during the play. Keith played John Proctor in The Crucible. Very dramatic play. And everyone did a great job. Take a look at the slideshow.

Happy 2nd Birthday AJ!

2007-10-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today is AJ's birthday so I wanted to share a few pics from the day.

AJ wanted to get into that cake all morning.

He was much better at opening gifts this year than last year. But, of course, as soon as he opened one gift, he just wanted to play with it and not open the others.

AJ, how old are you today? And he responded with holding up one finger on each hand and then clapping about it. (too cute!) Also, wearing the new shirt his Uncle Ben gave him for his birthday - Trey loves it too!

Hanging out with Aunt "Je" Nina.

He got a tickle me elmo, but wasn't too sure of it in the beginning. When Elmo would roll over, AJ would climb into my lap. He did decide that he was ok after a while though.

Happy birthday to the most wonderful little boy a mom and dad could ever have. We love you AJ!!

wedding

2007-09-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been extremely bad in blogging this summer with family activities. I will have to catch that up soon. In the meantime, I have to put a few recent pics of AJ. He was in a wedding a couple of weeks ago and did so well.

My little man...

AJ is definitely a ladies man. The little girl in the wedding with him hugged him first, but then he kept wanting to hug her. Check out the look on his face.

AJ and Daddy...

AJ and the bride, Lindsey. Lindsey cuts his hair.

AJ with Chad and Anndrea. Chad is Lindsey's brother and I photographed their wedding last January. Fortunately, they live close and we drop AJ off on occasion for them to babysit. I think Chad had better look out. From the looks of this picture, AJ has his eye on Anndrea!

The bride and groom with all the little ones.

The plan was for AJ and Anna to ride in the wagon together, but when it was time to go down the aisle, Anna just wouldn't do it. So AJ had to go it alone. But he seemed not to mind too much. He just sat back and looked around.

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

For father's day, Trey's family came over for dinner. My dad couldn't be there so I will post pictures of him when we get together.

Here are three generations of Gambills...

Ben was off playing softball, so Nina was sure to leave a place for him in the picture.

Trey and AJ on their second Father's Day.

Sorry this photo is a bit blurry, but I was laughing so hard it was hard to keep the camera still. AJ discovered the squirt bottle Trey was using with the grill and he squirted in right in his face. The funny part was that he just kept doing it and then grinning about it.

Nashville Sounds Game

2007-06-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

We took a group from church to the Sounds Game last night and since it was also Trey's birthday, I arranged for him to throw out the first pitch as part of his birthday present. I didn't tell him until a few minutes before it was time to go to the field and I believe he was a bit nervous. But he did great, and I think it was a momentous occasion for him. It was a fun night and the Sounds won the game!!

Happy Birthday!!

2007-06-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Trey's birthday and I just wanted to take a moment to tell him how much I appreciate and respect him not only as a husband but also as a man and the father of our child. He has been so supportive to me the last few years as we have been growing the business and I can't thank him enough. I LOVE YOU, Trey - and Happy Birthday!!

The family

2007-05-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist...

The Gambill m&m family!

Go create one for you - www.becomeanmm.com

Happy Birthday!

2007-04-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Friday was Trey's brother's birthday. He turned 29.
Happy Birthday BEN!

The force is with you...

2007-04-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Trey helped me with an engagement session in Nashville Thursday night and what did we come across but an R2D2 painted mailbox, so of course I had to take his picture with it.

Happy Easter

2007-04-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

I have been unable to log on to this blog for the past few days, so I'm a little behind.

My two favorite men in their Easter suits...

My mom and dad...

AJ's first Easter egg hunt...

Fun at the park

2007-03-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

We spent last Monday in Spring Hill with Holly, Bill and Chase . Chase is a month younger than AJ but has been walking and talking for a while now. We took them to eat and AJ ate the whole time while Chase took a nap. Then we went to the park, the boys road in Chase's wagon and it was just too cute. Here is one picture that I just die laughing at every time I see it. I will post more later.

Keith's Prom

2007-03-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

Keith had prom Friday night so of course I had to go and get pictures of him getting ready. He wasn't too excited about that, but I think I got some really good pics. I'd love to put more up but he'd probably come after me!

AJ and the buttercups

2007-03-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was doing an engagement session in a field of buttercups in Franklin Sunday and just couldn't resist but take AJ along for a few pics afterward.

HELLO

2007-03-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our family blog. Check back often to see what is going on in the life of the Gambill Family.

Trey and Angie